Hanging shoe rack

ABSTRACT

A hanging shoe rack for supporting shoes in an angular manner. A pair of side frame members having an elongate body section. A plurality of support arms project outwardly and downwardly from each main body section. Pairs of retaining bars are positioned between said frame members and are aligned in a plane forming an acute angle with respect to vertical, to thereby support thereon shoes in an angular manner, with the shoes directed downwardly toward a vertical surface upon which the shoe rack is placed. The support arms, upon opposite side frames, traverse side sections of the shoes to form a barrier against lateral movement of the shoes. Unique socket structure, into which the retaining bars are positioned, permit easy assembly of the shoe rack. Additionally, each side frame member includes unique attachment structure, upon upper and lower ends thereof, so that multiple shoe racks of the present invention may be vertically suspended one from another. A unique hanger is provided for hanging the rack over the top of an upright surface, such as a door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is generally directed to a hanging shoe rack. Moreparticularly, the present invention is directed to a hanging shoe rackwhich supports the shoes in an inclined manner, such that each shoe issloped downwardly toward the vertical surface upon which the shoe rackis attached. Additionally, the hanging shoe rack of the presentinvention contains attachment structure allowing multiple such racks tobe suspended from one another.

2. Description of the Related Art

Numerous types of shoe racks have been developed for storing shoes in aconvenient manner. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,955 (Moore)illustrates a reversible shoe rack having a shoe support pivotallymounted to a side frame. The shoe support includes front and rearsupport bars which retain the shoe in an inclined manner, such that thetoe of the shoe is angled downwardly and abuts against the wallsupporting the shoe rack. U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,681 (Bergeron) discloses afoot apparel storage assembly which includes shelves supported at a baseupon a back plate. The shelves are inclined downwardly toward asupporting wall such that shoes positioned on the shelf are inclineddownwardly toward the wall. U.S. Pat. No. 1,769,344 (Hoffmire) disclosesa portable shoe rack wherein paddles extend outwardly from a back bracein a manner to support shoes in an inclined manner such that the toe ofa shoe is angled downwardly and abuts against the back brace. U.S. Pat.No. 2,238,884 (Hoffman) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,090,108 (Cicero) illustrateshoe racks for hanging on a vertical surface, such as a wall or the backof a door.

One known prior art shoe rack has a pair of elongate, spaced-apart basemembers for abutting with a door or wall upon which the shoe rack hangs.Each base member has a plurality of outwardly extending side bars,wherein corresponding side bars of the base members have a pair ofspaced-apart rod members extending therebetween for supporting shoes.The side bar members are inclined upwardly as they extend from the basemembers. Thus, shoes positioned on the rod members incline downwardlytowards the supporting surface of the rack. Additionally, this knownprior art shoe rack is modular in nature, thereby permitting additionalsuch racks to be attached to it in a suspended manner.

A primary problem with conventional shoe racks, including the knownmodular shoe rack previously described, is their inability to preventshoes from sliding sideways off the rack without an additional sidesupport member for blocking the shoes. Thus, those prior art shoe rackswhich do not provide such a side support member have difficulty inretaining shoes on the rack, particularly where the rack is positionedon a closet door. It will be appreciated that, as the door is swung openand closed, the shoes on the rack are forced toward the side of the rackand, in the absence of a side supporting member, may fall from the rack.Alternatively, those racks which provide a side support member are morestructurally complex and costly to manufacture due to the addition ofthe side support members.

Additionally, a known problem with the heretofore described prior artmodular shoe rack is the inability to retain suspended members in arigid position relative to the shoe racks with which it is connected,particularly when the racks are positioned on a swinging door, asdescribed above. In this regard, the known prior art modular hangingshoe rack previously described utilizes a pair of posts extendingrearwardly from an upper portion of the base members. A lower portion ofthe base members have a pair of apertures such that the posts at theupper portion of a first shoe rack are inserted into the apertures at alower portion of a second shoe rack. However, when such a modular shoerack is placed on a door, these lower shoe rack portions have a tendencyto swing from side-to-side as the doors open and close. This increasesthe likelihood of shoes falling from the racks, particularly where noside support structure is provided. Additionally, the suspended racksbow outwardly from the door, causing them to flop when the door isopened and closed and creating a space through which shoes slip.

Accordingly, the need exists for an inexpensive hanging shoe rack havingside supporting members and a minimum number of parts. The need alsoexists for a modular hanging shoe rack which allows multiple racks to besuspended from one another and which engage one another in a manner toresist lateral displacement therebetween. The present invention fillsthese and other needs, and overcomes the drawbacks associated with priorart shoe racks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to support shoes in an inclinedmanner sloped downwardly toward a surface upon which the shoe rack issupported.

It is a further object of the present invention to prevent the shoesfrom sliding laterally off of a shoe rack made in accordance with theprinciples of the invention.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aninexpensive hanging shoe rack, for supporting shoes in an inclinedmanner sloped downwardly toward the door, with side support members forabutting against the shoes to prevent the shoes from sliding off therack, all with a minimal number of parts.

It is a further object of the present invention to suspend multiple shoeracks from one another in a manner to prevent lateral displacementtherebetween.

These and other objects are achieved by a shoe rack having side framemembers which securely retain a plurality of shoe-retaining barstherebetween. The side frame members include a main body section and aplurality of support arms projecting outwardly therefrom. The supportarms are angled downwardly from their respective main body section.

The side frame members are secured to, or hang from, a vertical surface,such as a wall or a door, such that a corresponding pair of support armsupon opposed side frame members securely retain opposite ends of a firstretaining bar, positioning proximate an outer end of each support arm.This first, outer retaining bar is adapted to receive a first portion ofthe sole of a shoe. The main body portions of the side frames receiveopposite ends of the second retaining bar adapted to support a secondportion of the shoe. The pairs of shoe-retaining bars are aligned in aplane forming an acute angle with respect to vertical, to therebysupport the shoes in an inclined manner with the shoes directeddownwardly toward the door or wall. Additionally, and in accordance witha key aspect of the present invention, the support arms upon oppositeside frames traverse the side sections of the shoes to form a barrieragainst lateral movement of the shoes, thereby preventing the shoes fromfalling off the rack as the doors open and close.

The present shoe rack also includes unique attachment structure upon theupper and lower ends of the side frames for suspending shoe racks fromone another. Particularly, an upper portion of each side frame member ofthe shoe rack includes upper attachment structure, while a lower portionof each side frame member includes lower attachment structure. The upperattachment structure of a first shoe rack of the present invention isadapted to mate with the lower attachment structure of a second shoerack of the present invention, to thereby suspend the two shoe rackstogether. The upper attachment structure includes a pair of spaced-apartslots, while the lower attachment structure includes a pair ofspaced-apart male members. The male members are adapted to be slidinglyintroduced, in a sidewise fashion, into position within the femalechannels, to thereby interconnect two shoe racks of the presentinvention together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and features of the invention noted above are explained inmore detail with reference to the drawings, in which like referencenumerals denote like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a left, frontal perspective view of a shoe rack according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view illustrating the modular hanging shoerack of the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged fragmentary views, illustrating theattachment structure of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5—5 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference initially to FIG. 1, a modular hanging shoe rack of thepresent invention is denoted generally by reference numeral 10. Shoerack 10 has first and second side frame members 12, 14. Each side framemember 12, 14 includes a main, elongate body section 16 and a pluralityof support arms projecting outwardly from a front face 11 thereof. Asshown, each support arm 18 angles downwardly, at approximately a 45°angle, from its corresponding main body section 16. Side frame sections12, 14 are preferably integrally molded from plastic.

With additional reference to FIG. 2, each side frame member 12, 14 ispreferably generally constructed in the form of an I-beam (see FIG. 5)and has, at front face 11 thereof, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 15extending between the support arms 18. Each side frame member 12, 14also includes an upper leg 22 extending rearwardly from a rear face ofits corresponding main, elongate body section 16. Upper legs 22terminate in depending foot portions 24 for engaging with a verticalsurface upon which the shoe rack 10 hangs. Each side frame member 12, 14also includes a lower leg 26 extending rearwardly from a lowermostportion of a corresponding elongate body section 16, and terminating ina downwardly depending lower foot portion 28. Lower foot portion 28 isalso adapted to engage with the vertical surface upon which the shoerack 10 hangs. As shown, gussets 17 are provided for strengthening therelationship between main body section 16 and the legs 22, 26. Asdescribed in greater detail below, each upper leg 22 has, at an upperportion thereof, upper attachment structure 38 and each lower leg 26has, at a lower portion thereof, lower attachment structure 40. Theattachment structure 38 of a first shoe rack 10 and the attachmentstructure 40 of a second shoe rack 10 permit two shoe racks 10 to becombined in suspended fashion.

Each bar of a first plurality of shoe-retaining bars, each bardesignated by the reference numeral 20, is fixedly retained between sideframe members 12, 14. Particularly, a corresponding pair of support arms18 upon opposed side frame members 12, 14 have sockets which securelyretain opposite outer ends of a retaining bar 20 proximate an outer end23 of the respective support arms 18. Retaining bars 20 support a firstportion of the sole of a shoe, such as shoes 34, 36. The elongate bodyportions 16 of side frame members 12, 14 also have sockets, each socketpreferably located at a position proximate an upper end of a support bar18, which sockets receive opposite ends of each of a plurality of secondretaining bars 21, each of which bars 21 is adapted to support a secondsole portion of a shoe. As shown, pairs of shoe-retaining bars 20, 21are aligned in a plane forming an acute angle with respect to vertical,to thereby support the shoes 34, 36 in an inclined manner with the shoesdirected toward the vertical surface 30 upon which shoe rack 10 issupported.

Each side frame member 12, 14 is preferably fabricated as one integralpiece of plastic and has openings 32 therethrough. Specifically, eachside frame member 12, 14 is preferably formed of thermal plastic moldingcompound. Retaining bars 20, 21 are preferably formed of lightweight,sturdy material, such as aluminum or steel. It will be appreciated thatside frame members 12, 14 and retaining bars 20 can be constructed ofany suitable material, such as plastic or wood, or any combinationthereof.

Shoe rack 10 is adapted to be supported on a vertical surface, such as awall or door. For hanging shoe rack 10 over a door, such as door 30illustrated in FIG. 2, a pair of hangers 25 are placed over the top ofdoor 30, and engage with shoe rack 10, to support shoe rack 10 insuspended fashion in engagement with the vertical surface of the door.Each hanger 25 is preferably in the form of a metallic bracket having ahorizontal upper portion 50 and downwardly depending front and rearportions 51, 52, respectively, depending downwardly from respectivefront and rear edges of the upper horizontal surface. Preferably, thedownwardly depending front portion 51 includes a portion, designated bythe reference numeral 53, angled into a V-shape including angledportions 54, 55 which meet at an outwardly protruding apex 56. Eachangled portion 54, 55 includes an opening 57 adapted to receive an upperfoot 24 of the corresponding side frame member 12, 14 of shoe rack 10.The inverted “U” formed by each hanger 25 is adapted to hang over thetop of door 30, as shown in FIG. 2, thus rigidly supporting shoe rack 10in suspended fashion on door 30.

In addition to hanger 25, or alternatively, fasteners, such as fastener60 shown in FIG. 3, may be inserted through fastener sockets 48 and intothe vertical support surface to retain shoe rack 10 in place on thesurface 30. Preferably, fastener sockets 48 are positioned along eachouter side edge of the outwardly-most extending portion of foot members24, 26.

In FIG. 2, shoe rack 10 is shown from the side in a position hangingsuspended from a vertical surface, such as door 30. Shoes 34, 36, shownin broken lines, are positioned on retaining bars 20 in a preferredmanner. Particularly, a first sole portion of each shoe rests on anouter retaining bar 20, while a second sole portion of each shoe restson a corresponding inner retaining bar 21. In this manner, shoes 34, 36are positioned in an incline, angular manner, with one end of each shoe34, 36 abutting the vertical surface 30 upon which shoe rack 10 is hung.It has been found that, with most shoes, it is preferred that the toe ofthe shoe be inclined downwardly into abutment with the vertical surface.However, some shoes, such as women's flats (as shown by shoe 36) may bejust as conveniently positioned on shoe rack 10 in an opposite manner.

In accordance with a key principle of the present invention, FIG. 2illustrates the manner in which shoe rack 10 securely retains shoes 30,36 between side frame members 12, 14 of shoe rack 10. Particularly, asupport arm 18 provides a side frame member which traverses a sidesection of a respective shoe, to thereby perform a barrier againstlateral movement of the shoe beyond the side edge of the shoe rack 10.Respective support arms 18 thus prevent corresponding shoes 34, 36 fromfalling off the shoe rack 10, particularly when shoe rack 10 ispositioned on a door that is opened and closed in a swinging manner.

With additional reference now to FIGS. 3-5, the attachment structure forpermitting multiple shoe racks to be suspended one from the other isillustrated and described.

As shown in FIG. 3, lower attachment structure, designated generally bythe reference numeral 40, includes a pair of male members 44 extendingdownwardly from a lower side surface of lower leg 26 of each side framemember 12, 14 of an upper shoe rack 10 of the present invention. Eachdownwardly extending male member 44 includes a relatively narrowextension member 45 terminating in an enlarged head 46. Additionally,upper attachment structure 38 at an upper surface of upper legs 22includes relatively narrow slots 62 opening into an enlarged channel 64.As will be readily appreciated, downwardly depending male members 44positioned on a lower leg 26 of a shoe rack 10 are adapted to bereceived by the female attachment structure 38 positioned on an upperleg 22 of a second shoe rack 10 of the present invention. It will beunderstood that FIG. 3 illustrates only one side of the shoe racks, butthat the other side of shoe rack 10 will operate in the same manner.Particularly, extension members 45 are adapted to be snugly receivedwithin narrow openings 62, and enlarged heads 46 of male members 44 areadapted to be snugly received within channels 64. In order to suspendone shoe rack 10 from the other, the male members 44 are aligned withthe openings of the female attachment structure, and the two shoe racks10 are moved sidewise relative to each other so that the male members 44are completely received within the female attachment structure, asillustrated in FIG. 4.

As also shown in FIG. 4, the lower side surface of lower legs 26 of eachmain body section 16 of the present invention, as well as the lower sidesurface of each enlarged head 46 of male members 44 have smallprojecting ribs, denoted generally by the reference numbers 66, whichserve as gripping nodules. The ribs 66 preferably do not extend all theway to the outer edges of the surfaces from which they extend. Such anarrangement permits the racks to be easily assembled because the racksbegin sliding together, and then the ribs cause a wedging effect.Particularly, those ribs 66 on the bottom surface of the male members44, create a desirable frictional fit between shoe racks 10.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, each upper foot 24 of a lower shoe rack10 suspended from an upper shoe rack 10 engages with the lower foot 28of the upper shoe rack 10. Lower foot 28 of upper shoe rack 10 in turnengages with the vertical surface 30, as previously described.

With reference now to FIG. 5, a cross-sectional view taken along line5—5 of FIG. 4, the general I-beam structure of the components of thepresent invention is illustrated. Additionally, FIG. 5 illustrates oneof the plurality of sockets utilized by the present invention forreceiving an outer end of a retaining bar such as, in this instance, aretaining bar 21. In accordance with a principal aspect of the presentinvention, receiving sockets 70 include a first portion 71 having aninner diameter and a second portion 72 having an outer diameter, theouter diameter being slightly greater than the inner diameter. It hasbeen found that this arrangement permits the structure to be easilyassembled.

Specifically, during assembly, a first side frame member, such as sideframe member 12, may be laid on a flat surface, and the variousretaining bars 20, 21 loosely positioned within the second, outerportion 72 of corresponding receiving sockets 70. Side frame member 14may then be positioned downwardly onto the retaining bars, wherein theretaining bars are similarly loosely positioned within the outermostlarge diameter portion 72 of the receiving sockets. It will beappreciated that, with the retaining bars 20, 21 only loosely positionedwithin the sockets within the larger diameter areas 72, the bars areless rigid than when snugly secured within the innermost, smallerdiameter area 71 of the receiving sockets 70. As such, the bars 20, 21may be manipulated to align with the receiving sockets on the opposingside frame member 14, so that the bars may be placed within the largerdiameter area of corresponding receiving sockets in the side framemember 14. Once all the bars are properly aligned, and looselypositioned within the outer, larger diameter area 72 of correspondingreceiving sockets 70, the side frame members 12, 14 may be depressedtogether, thus forcing the bars 20, 21 into the innermost, smallerdiameter areas of the receiving sockets 70, thereby figidly attachingthe retaining bars to the side frame members 12, 14. The receivingsocket structure of the present invention, having the first and secondperipheral dimensions of different sizes, facilitates insertion andalignment of retaining bars 20, 21 and the overall easy assembly of shoerack 10.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth togetherwith the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent tothe structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

Sine many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

1. A shoe rack, for hanging on an upright surface, said shoe rackcomprising: first and second opposed side frame members, each said sideframe member having a main body section and a plurality of support armsprojecting outwardly, and angled downwardly, from said main bodysection; a plurality of shoe-retaining bars, extending between said sideframe members, for retaining shoes, wherein said shoe-retaining bars areoriented in pairs, each said pair of shoe-retaining bars aligned in aplane forming an acute angle with respect to vertical, to therebysupport shoes in an angular manner, with the shoes directed downwardlytoward the upright surface, and wherein said support arms upon oppositesaid side frames traverse the side sections of the shoes to form abarrier against lateral movement of the shoes.
 2. The shoe rack,according to claim 1, wherein each said pair of shoe-retaining barsincludes a first retaining bar, positioned proximate an outer end of acorresponding pair of said support arms on said opposed side framemembers, and a second retaining bar, extending between said main bodyportions of said side frame members, wherein said second retaining baris oriented vertically lower than said first retaining bar.
 3. The shoerack, according to claim 2, wherein each said side frame member includesan upper and lower leg extending outwardly for engagement with saidupright surface, thereby positioning said main body sections in alocation that is spatially removed from said upright surface.
 4. Theshoe rack, according to claim 3, wherein each of said upper and lowerlegs terminate in a downwardly extending upper and lower foot member,respectively.
 5. The shoe rack, according to claim 4, further comprisinga pair of hangers, each of said hangers for engaging with respectiveones of said upper leg members and said upper foot members, and also forengaging over a top of said upright surface.
 6. A shoe rack, accordingto claim 1, wherein each of said upper and lower leg members furthercomprise attachment structure for attaching a shoe rack thereto.
 7. Adevice for placing articles thereon, said device comprising: at leastone rod member having first and second outer ends; first and secondframe members, each said frame member having a socket with a closed endand an open end therein to receive the outer ends, each said sockethaving an inner portion having a first peripheral dimension adjacent theclosed end, and an outer portion having a second peripheral dimensionadjacent the open end, wherein said second peripheral dimension isgreater than said first peripheral dimension, wherein said first andsecond outer ends of said rod member are received within respective saidsockets, and wherein said outer ends of said rod member are looselyreceived with said outer portion, and snugly received within said innerportion of said socket.
 8. The device according to claim 7, wherein eachsaid frame member has a plurality of said sockets having said first andsecond portions, the first peripheral dimension is constant, the secondperipheral dimension is constant and further comprising a plurality ofrod members adapted to be received within corresponding sockets of saidframe members.
 9. The device according to claim 7, wherein correspondingsockets of pairs of said sockets of said frame members are in alignmentwhen said frame members are positioned in opposed relationship to eachother.
 10. A shoe rack comprising: first and second frame members, eachsaid frame member having an elongate body section, with an upper and alower end, an upper leg member extending outwardly from said upper endof said body section, and a lower leg member extending outwardly fromsaid lower end of said body section; at least one pair of retainingbars, extending between said first and second frame members, forretaining shoes thereon; and attachment structure for attaching the shoerack to an identical second shoe rack, said attachment structurecomprising upper attachment structure located on each said upper leg andlower attachment structure located on each said lower leg, wherein oneof said upper attachment structure and said lower attachment structurecomprises a channel and the other of said upper attachment structure andsaid lower attachment structure comprises an extending male member,wherein said channel of said shoe rack is adapted to mate with a malemember of the other shoe rack, to thereby interconnect the two shoeracks, wherein said upper attachment structure comprises a slot openinginto said channel, and said lower attachment structure comprises saidextending male member, said extending male member including an enlargedouter head, wherein said enlarged outer head of extending male member ofsaid shoe rack is adapted to be received within a channel of said secondshoe rack, and wherein said channel and said male member slidinglyengage in sidewise fashion, and further, wherein said male member has atleast one rib protecting outwardly from a head thereof.
 11. The shoerack, according to claim 10, wherein said head has outer edges and saidrib does not extend to said outer edges.
 12. A shoe rack, for hanging ona vertical surface, said shoe rack comprising: first and second sideframe members, each said side frame member being identically formed ofplastic, and comprising an elongate body section, having a front faceand a rear face; a plurality of support arms projecting outwardly, andangled downwardly at approximately a 45° angle with respect tohorizontal, from said front face of said elongate body section of eachof said first and second side frame members; an upper leg extendingoutwardly from said rear face of each said elongate body sectionproximate an upper end thereof; a lower leg extending from each saidelongate body section proximate a lower end thereof, each of said upperand lower legs terminating in a downwardly extending foot portion forengaging with said vertical surface; a first plurality of sockets,positioned on each said frame member, wherein each socket of said firstplurality is located proximate an outer end of a corresponding saidsupport arm; a second plurality of sockets, positioned on each saidframe member, wherein each socket of said second plurality is locatedalong said elongate body section of said frame member; wherein each saidsocket of said first and second plurality of sockets has a first innerportion of a first peripheral dimension and a second outer portion of asecond peripheral dimension, wherein said second peripheral dimension isgreater than said first peripheral dimension; a first plurality ofshoe-retaining rods, each said rod of said plurality extending betweensaid frame members and snugly positioned within said first, inner areasof corresponding sockets of said first plurality of sockets; a secondplurality of shoe-retaining rods, each said rod of said second pluralitypositioned between said first and second frame members and snuglypositioned within said inner portion of corresponding sockets of saidsecond plurality of sockets; wherein each said retaining rod of saidfirst plurality and said second plurality of retaining rods form one ofa pair of a plurality of retaining rod pairs, each said retaining rodpair comprising one retaining rod from said first plurality of retainingrods and one retaining rod from said second plurality of retaining rods,wherein said retaining rod of each said pair taken from said firstplurality of retaining rods is oriented vertically higher than itscorresponding paired retaining rod of said second plurality of rods,wherein said pairs of retaining rods are adapted to support thereonshoes having side sections, and wherein said shoe-retaining rods of saidpairs are aligned in a plane forming an acute angle with respect tovertical, to thereby support the shoes in an angular manner with theshoes directed toward said vertical surface; wherein said support armsupon said side frame members traverse said side sections of the shoes toform a barrier against lateral movement of the shoes, thereby preventingthe shoes from laterally falling off the shoe rack; and upper and lowerattachment structure, positioned on said upper and lower legs,respectively, for permitting multiple said shoe racks to be suspendedtogether in vertical orientation, wherein said upper attachmentstructure comprises at least one female channel, and said lowerattachment structure comprises at least one downwardly projecting malemember, said female channel of a first said shoe rack adapted to matewith said male member of a second said shoe rack to thereby verticallysuspend the said shoe racks together.
 13. A shoe rack, for hanging on anupright surface, said shoe rack comprising: first and second opposedside frame members, each said side frame member having a main bodysection and a plurality of support arms projecting outwardly from afront face of said main body section, wherein each said side framemember includes an upper and lower leg extending outwardly from a rearface of said body section for engagement with said upright surface,thereby positioning said main body sections in a location that isspatially removed from said upright surface; a plurality ofshoe-retaining bars, extending between said side frame members, forretaining shoes, wherein said shoe-retaining bars are oriented in pairs,each said pair of shoe-retaining bars aligned in a plane forming anacute angle with respect to vertical, to thereby support shoes in anangular manner, with the shoes directed downwardly toward the uprightsurface, and wherein said main body sections of said side frame memberstraverse the side sections of the shoes to form a barrier againstlateral movement of the shoes.